Dave earns best finish in 30 years

Dave Ryding, of Great Britain, looks at his time after the first run of the men's slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Published:11:02Thursday 22 February 2018

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Dave Ryding secured ninth place in the Alpine Skiing men’s slalom at the Yongpyong Alpine Centre in the early hours of yesterday - Great Britain’s best result in 30 years.

It was a career-best Olympic result for the 31-year-old, at his third games.

And Ryding, who learned his trade at Pendle Ski Club, feels he has another Olympics in him, with the next games in Beijing in 2022.

Ryding finished in a time of 1:40.16, 1.17 seconds off gold medallist Andre Myhrer of Sweden.

And he said: “At the start of the day, if you’d said ninth, I’d have said , it’s solid.

“I had a couple of mistakes there that were a bit costly. I feel I could have done more but I think a lot of other people do as well.

“At the end of the day ninth’s what I got.

“A top 10 at the Olympics after the dust settles I’ll be pretty proud of, and in four years’ time I will have something to really build on.”

On the prospect of going for a medal in 2022, he added: “Myhrer is 35, and the last winner Mario Matt was also 35, and at the next Olympics I’m 35 so I’ll try to keep that trend going. I came to it really late so I’m still warming up. I’m more than motivated to keep going – obviously I’m a little tired, this job is stressful, but I’m more than motivated to keep going.”